Twas The Night Before Christmas
by ZedPM
Summary: Twas the night before Christmas and all through the station...nothing was quiet, especially not Spencer. Mindless fun, Shules, naturally.


**Disclaimer – I swear, there's no owning of TV shows here!**

**An – Ok, so it's not actually the 24****th**** yet, but school's out for Christmas, my other fanfictions are depressing me with their angsty-ness and I was in a holiday mood. So the SBPD (plus guests!) get a Christmas party, with costumes and Secret Santas - Shawn, of course, gets – **

'Jules!' Called Shawn, waving to her, 'Cute outfit.' He grinned as she put her hands on her hips, her smile, even if he had managed to look past the elf costume, made it impossible to seriously think she was annoyed.

'Where's Gus?' She declined to comment on Shawn's (very deliberately) matching attire.

'Powdering his nose or something. You want your present?' He had gotten Juliet for the Secret Santa, and it had nothing to do with him looking at the backs of the pieces of paper in the bowl and reading the groves backwards. Nothing at all; he would never do that - it would be cheating. He held the present out to her but she shook her head;

'We're not doing that yet!' She exclaimed, 'Everyone's giving out the Secret Santa gifts at once, and besides, I want to see what Lassiter does when he gives _his_ present out.' She mimicked Shawn's mischievous grin with a glint in her eye and glanced at the almost unrecognisable Head Detective – rather grudgingly dressed up as Father Christmas himself, though this time without the gun (at least, not one anyone could see), talking to the equally odd looking McNabb, whose holiday spirit had apparently spread far enough to warrant dressing as Rudolph, complete with glowing red nose and a furry antler headband.

'Ooh – who'd Lassie get? I swear I won't tell. And I thought you weren't supposed to talk about these things?' Shawn pasted mock disapproval on his face as he looked back at Juliet, who sighed exasperatedly,

'If we're not supposed to talk about it, why are you asking?'

'Come on Jules, live a little!' She simply looked at him.

'I didn't talk to him about it, and I'm not telling you. I just saw what he was getting, and it could only be for one person. Besides, aren't you supposed to be psychic?' This time, it was Shawn who could only look at her, shaking his head while she looked suitably ashamed of herself.

Shawn took the moment of silence to look around the police station, which was decorated as he had never seen it before; brightly coloured foil fold-out shapes hung from the ceiling, catching the light as they swayed slowly, tinsel was strung across all available spaces and streamers were spread like the spindly tendrils of some long-armed creature across the room, soccer-ball sized baubles glittered like disco balls above and the magnificent tree's silver decorations shimmered in an almost ethereal way, fairy lights twinkling from its depths and delicate glass decorations hung on the deep green branches. The people that swelled around were no less interesting to look at, though most came without the carefully crafted and arranged feel that the rest of the place did; most sported untidy costumes meant to portray things Shawn could only imagine, because even he couldn't figure out what half of them were.

Music played in the background, just loud enough that people had to raise their voices slightly to be heard, Christmas carols that varied from so familiar he would find himself humming or singing along before he even realised he was doing it to so obscure he was sure no one in the room had ever heard them before, and probably never would again (he certainly didn't want to). It was currently one of the former, and Shawn had to employ all his self control not to burst into song, even though, he thought, it would have been funny. So he settled for scanning the room for more familiar faces.

'Gus!' Exclaimed Shawn, seeing his friend dressed in something indescribable that might have been badly arranged deep purple robes, but might also have been a stained sheet he had wrapped around himself haphazardly. '_What_ are you meant to be?'

'I'm a wise man Shawn, what are you?' Snapped Gus, gesturing towards Shawn's own costume.

'I'm an elf, Gus, can't you tell?' Gus rolled his eyes.

'Merry Christmas Juliet,'

'Thank you.' She smiled again and glanced towards someone in a long white dress and enormous feathery wings who was turning the volume down on the CD player in the corner. Once the music was quiet enough for her, the woman turned around; it was the Chief, a halo that literally lit up perched jauntily on top of her head.

'Ok people, Secret Santa time!' She called. Juliet glanced at Shawn, expecting him to insist on being first, but he simply shot her a sideways grin and stayed exactly where he was. He watched the first few gifts exchange hands with only mild interest, smiling when McNabb, looking thoroughly embarrassed, collected what turned out to be a bottle of wine from the Chief herself, and proceeded to give Lassiter a delicate little snow globe; luckily, he chose exactly the right moment to give Shawn an appreciative wave (he had advised the young cop on what to get his superior) and didn't notice the horrified look on Lassiter's face.

Lassiter, in turn, was told to present his gift to whoever he had gotten. Shawn couldn't help but smirk when the scowling detective walked straight towards him, a neatly wrapped box-shaped present in his hands.

'Aww, Lassie, you shouldn't have!'

'That, Spencer,' He replied with a look towards the snow globe he had hastily put down on the nearest desk, 'is something I already know.' Shawn didn't reply, but shook the package next to his ear before opening it.

'Wow, Lassie. A box, how thoughtful!' He joked. Lassiter glowered at him as looked inside said box; nestled among the tissue paper padding was a four inch tall, intricately painted glass pineapple, a miniscule fabric Santa hat atop one of the green spikes. Lassiter looked like he was already regretting his decision even before Shawn decided to mess with him even more by throwing his arms around him.

'Spencer. Get. Off.' Lassiter demanded, seriously considering pulling his gun but forcing himself to settle for tensing up and pushing against the pseudo -psychic, who let go, still beaming, and allowed Lassiter to make his way back into the crowd amidst stifled sniggers from his colleagues, most notably Juliet and the Chief.

'That makes it your turn, Mr. Spencer.' Said Vick eventually. Shawn nodded and bounced towards Juliet even though he was only a few feet away from her, and handed her a small gift wrapped in shimmering red paper,

'Don't open it yet.' He said,

'Why?' She asked, already slipping her finger inside a tiny hole in the wrapping to slit it open,

'Just don't.' He winked and turned back to the Chief, who quickly wiped the frown of confusion off her face after Juliet shrugged at her in 'what can you do?' sort of way.

'O'Hara?' Juliet handed a package with an elaborate ribbon around it to Gus, who thanked her with a pointed look at Shawn. It was a DVD entitled 'Reality TV – The Best and Worst.' Gus's gift, in turn, was a box of luxury chocolates to Vick herself ('_Suck up.' Hissed Shawn._) The rest of the gift-giving was over relatively quickly, though to Shawn, whose eyes spent most of the time glued on the half open present in Juliet's hands, it seemed like a century passed before the last paper was torn open, the last thanks given and the music turned back up.

'Can I open it yet Shawn?' Asked Juliet, her voice laced with amusement as her fingers played on the tear she had already made.

'Go ahead,' he nodded, shooting Gus a quick frown – he was stood behind Jules and was trying to peer over her shoulder to see what Shawn had gotten her. He backed away, albeit not far enough to be out of earshot even above the music that played not-so in the background.

Inside the brilliant red paper was a rectangular white box, which Juliet frowned slightly at before opening, glancing at Shawn as if to confirm something. Inside was a carefully arranged sprig of something with small rounded green leaves and perfect white berries.

'Mistletoe?' She asked, raising an eyebrow.

'Oh, would you look at that,' Shawn smirked, 'we'd better hang that up. Fetch it over here, would you Jules?' Gus snorted into his eggnog and watched Jules consider, just for a second, telling Shawn to stick it. He was amazed, however, when she followed him and held the box out once they were both stood in the doorway, smirking in a strange way that led Gus to believe she was just trying to tease him.

The mistletoe hung, and oblivious to the looks they were attracting, Shawn turned back to Juliet.

'We're under mistletoe.' He said, in matter of fact tone. Gus saw her nod but didn't hear her response, watching and waiting for Shawn's plan to fall to pieces before him

'I'm sure there's a tradition for that; aren't we meant to kiss now or something?' Shawn asked, cocking an eyebrow mischievously.

'You remember when we had that conversation about mistakes?' She said, stepping away ever so slightly, uncertain whether it was because she was uncomfortable with how close they had ended up standing (_how had that happened?_) or because she was entirely _too_ comfortable with it.

'Come on Jules, its Christmas!' Gus had seen Juliet step back and cringed for his friend, but now he saw something different enter her face – a recklessness that her more wary side was trying very hard to suppress. Gus' eyes widened.

'Shawn – '

'It doesn't mean anything.' He wheedled, ignoring the voice in his head that yelled out, unbidden _yes it does!_ 'It'd only be under mistletoe. Alcohol induced. Christmas charity. Any excuse you like. Come on, you know you want to.' He flashed a cocky grin and she sighed, one hand on her hip, looking almost disappointed at his weak attempts but letting lose a small laugh when he pouted at her.

'Shawn – we can't – '

'Just a peck?' Gus, who had edged closer throughout the exchange, heard that and expected Juliet to refuse yet again and turn and walk away...any minute now. What he didn't expect was for her to shake her head as if letting go of some hidden restraint and step forwards for what, even now, he was convinced would be brief cheek action, or even a tiny brush of the lips. His mouth hit the deck when he saw what actually happened.

Juliet stepped back forwards towards Shawn, who waited a moment before reacting, making sure she was doing what he thought she was doing. For some reason, he wanted it to be her who initiated the kiss. And she did. And it was no peck on the cheek. Nervously, they leaned closer together, even Shawn now not quite sure of what was happening, at least, not for a moment. Their lips met tenderly at first, but as if some invisible barricade had been lifted when their skin made contact, probably by, Shawn mused silently, the electric shock that shot through his body at her touch, Juliet threw away the inhibitions she had held onto and pressed her mouth to his, surprising even herself when she obligingly let Shawn's tongue do battle with her own, blissfully unaware of the attention they were getting.

By the time they broke apart Gus' mouth was wide enough to let a jet plane through and Lassiter's eyes were the size of dinner plates; the Chief simply looked as though she was trying to ignore it and McNabb looked like a teenager who had caught his parents making out.

Juliet moved back, her guarded self reappearing as she reluctantly stepped away from Shawn, his hands slipping out from under her blond hair. Suddenly humiliated she looked at the floor and avoided making eye contact with anyone.

More because she could think of no other way to distract everyone's attention and give Detective O'Hara a chance to recover herself than because it was necessarily time, Karen chose that moment o start giving instructions on the rules regarding the voting in the costume competition and the location of the ballot box'.

Shawn slipped his hand into Juliet's, surprised to find no resistance, and closed the door behind them as he led her away from the noise.

'That shouldn't happen again.' She said as soon as they stopped, ignoring the part of her that yelled for her to kiss him again.

'Then why are you still holding my hand?' Shawn asked. She looked down and whipped her hand away as though burned. Shawn had been expecting her rejection; but he hadn't been expecting the wave of disappointment that raged over him as he saw the regret on her face.

'Shawn – '

'It's forgotten.' He said, 'don't worry about it. Honestly, Jules.'

'No.' She said, her stomach twisting itself fearfully, unsure what she was about to say. Shawn's heart leapt to his throat.

'I mean...it was just mistletoe, right?' Shawn nodded, his heart settling back to its normal spot. It seemed to have picked up something heavy on its journey and was now weighing on his lungs, bringing with it an unmistakable sense of something more than disappointment. _Come on, you got what you wanted, didn't you_? Asked a sly voice in the back of his mind. No. He told it, without hesitation. He wasn't entirely sure _what_ he wanted from Juliet, but he knew he wanted _more_.

He smiled sadly at her, wondering what had come over him so that he was acting like a love-struck teenager. He was _Shawn Spencer_ for God's sake, he wasn't supposed to feel this way, _she _was supposed to feel this way – not the hurt, confused way – the other part. The part he couldn't even really describe, apart from to say that the last time he had felt like this he had been so nervous he had stood up his date and run like a coward. It had been his high school reunion before he patched _that_ one up. Before she could argue, he turned and walked back towards the party, leaving her feeling an unfamiliar sense of guilt and regret settling in – and it wasn't for going along with the whole mistletoe thing.

8-8-8

Shawn was quiet when he entered the party once more, and Gus started questioning him straight away, knowing something was up, but soon enough he was back to his old self, at least, if Gus made an attempt to ignore the fact that he and Juliet had hardly said two words to each other since their trip into the hallway he was.

'Who're you voting for?' Asked Gus as Shawn made a show of putting his hand over the ballot paper when Gus peeked at it,

'Not supposed to tell.' He replied.

'You're also not supposed to vote for yourself, Shawn!' Gus reprimanded him, snatching the paper and scanning it irately.

'I'm not, this is yours.' He grinned. Gus scowled.

'You can't do that Shawn – '

'Oh but I can.'

'I – '

'Sorry, can't hear you over the music!' Yelled Shawn in an exaggerated way that had most of the room look over at him; Gus didn't miss the fact that as soon as Juliet saw it was Shawn she was looking at, she busied herself with filling in her own ballot paper, a pink tinge rising to her cheeks.

'What _happened_ with you and Juliet?' Asked Gus,

'Dude, I rocked her world.'

'Shawn.'

'Gus. I'm offended that you don't think I'm good enough for her.' He said, somewhat lacking in his usual enthusiasm. _Maybe close talking was enough. Maybe you should have just left it there, Shawn, why did you have to go and ruin a good thing_? He asked himself furiously. The other side of his mind offered up no explanation; it hung its head and hid in the corner, trying not to be seen or heard by anyone, least of all himself.

'Five minutes until the votes are counted!' Came the Chief's voice over the crowd, who seemed to all scurry towards the ballot boxes dotted around as a single mass of brightly-clad Christmas decorations. Shawn grabbed the voting slip back off Gus and pushed it into a box before the latter could do a thing about it.

'Don't worry, I voted for you with my slip!' He said, dodging Gus' angry glare.

'In which category?'

'You sure you wanna know?' Gus' silence spoke for itself, and Shawn didn't tell him. The song played itself out amongst frantic scrambling of last-minute (literally) voters, and the boxes were taken away to be counted, leaving a vague sense of apprehension behind them.

It took only fifteen minutes to count the votes, and the duty fell, again, to the Chief to announce the results that were in the envelop handed to her by the only two non-costumed people at the party.

'The winner of the 'most humorous' category is...Buzz McNabb!' McNabb shuffled forwards and collected a small silver coloured (though Shawn strongly suspected it was plastic) trophy over. By the time McNabb had disappeared back into the cheering crowd his face was as red as the strap-on nose he was wearing.

'Most resourceful,' called Vick in tones that suggested she was surprised such a category had been entered, 'goes to James Padfield!' A detective Shawn was not entirely familiar with made his way up to Vick to collect his trophy dressed in green from head foot with ratty looking tinsel and other such discarded Christmas decorations attached to him, evidently in an attempt to look like a tree.

'Most effort...' Shawn grinned, 'Burton Guster!' Gus nodded and smiled amid the appreciative claps and cheers that surrounded him, but glowered at Shawn once he returned.

'_Most effort_? It that the category you entered me in? _Most effort_?'

'Dude, you got an award, what's wrong with that?'

'Shawn, most effort is like a consolation prize for – '

'...most effective, and overall winner – Juliet O'Hara!' Shawn's face twisted into a half smiled as he saw Jules make her way up to the front to collect her prize, their eyes meeting for a second before she pointedly walked in the opposite direction.

'You gonna talk to her?' Asked Gus, under cover of the cheers that followed the end of the brief congratulations ceremony,

'Merry Christmas!' Shawn called, raising his glass in a toast along with everyone else and ignoring Gus' question. 'Can you believe I didn't even get a mention? Not even a runner up?' Gus eyed Shawn's elf costume sceptically, deciding to leave the matter of Juliet alone. For now, anyway.

Shawn wandered away from his friend under cover of going for more food and eggnog, leaving Gus to talk to an attractive looking female detective without even a joke. How come _Gus_ could get the hot cops, but not him? What was wrong with him? And why did he, Shawn Spencer, over-confident, kid-on-candy hyperactive nut-job, have to fall for exactly the one girl he couldn't have? Why had he even dared to get her mistletoe – what a stupid plan that had been – how on earth had he ever figured that was going to work?

Despite the fact that he had no desire to eat or drink any more than he already had, Shawn soon enough found himself standing at the food table munching his way through party snacks. It was several moments before he realised Juliet was stood next to him.

'Look, Jules –' He started, wondering where he would have gone if she hadn't interrupted. An apology?

'Shawn.' She said, taking a deep breath as though she had just made a difficult, and dangerous, decision. Shawn dared, for a second, to let hope leap through his chest, the flame licking his insides temptingly before it subsided into doubt.

'I –' He began again,

'Come round to my place tomorrow for Christmas celebrations with my family.' The words tumbled out of her mouth before she could stop them, and somehow she felt better for having said them even if she hadn't heard his answer yet, even if part of her knew she shouldn't be doing this. Maybe it was the eggnog talking, maybe not, but she wanted, just for once, to let go and fall without the parachute, just to see what happened.

'Jules, you don't have to – '

'Unless you have plans already, I – '

'You don't have to, really.' He said, finally finishing his sentence and dousing the flame of hope in icy water; she had already made it perfectly clear, she wanted nothing to do with him.

'No, I...I want you to come.' She mumbled nervously. How come she could have armed face-offs with criminals of every sort, and yet simply asking Shawn to join her family for Christmas was such a big deal? It wasn't like it was a _date_, after all.

'You sure?' Asked Shawn tentatively,

'Yeah,' she replied, her voice suddenly much stronger, more certain.

'It's a date then.' Shawn said, smiling nervously. Juliet didn't answer, she just smiled thoughtfully.

Maybe it was.

**An – Ok, so that ended up about twice as long as I had planned – it just kept pouring out – but I definitely enjoyed writing it! Please review, it makes me happy. –Smiles innocently-**

**Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night! **


End file.
